MADURAI: Theatre owners in Madurai have said that they are awaiting new films from distributors and screening will only begin by Friday. The Tamil Nadu government had permitted theatres to reopen with 50% capacity from Monday.
On Monday, more than 90% of theatres across Madurai district remained closed for public. Maintenance and disinfection work was however carried out. Theatre owners said that the announcement for reopening of theatres was quite unexpected and that they want to wait a few days before reopening to ensure that Covid-19 safety measures and maintenance are in place. Further, the owners have to decide on which movies will draw people to theatres since there are no new releases. Most owners are banking on Friday releases to kick-off reopening.
Fans are also hoping for theatres to get back on track. S Rajan, an avid movie-goer, said that he is not too keen to return to theatres as of now. “Without new film releases, I’m not so eager to go to the theatre just for sake of watching. I’ve watched the films released on OTT platforms. But, I miss the feeling of going to theatres and watching movies. Hopefully, we are rewarded with some blockbuster Diwali releases,” he said.
